


Magnificence, Personified

by Sethrine



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Accidental Drowning, Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Mermaid Hanzo, Young Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 08:11:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11226882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sethrine/pseuds/Sethrine
Summary: If he was given the choice of only one word to describe the creature before him, McCree would have usedmagnificent,and it still wouldn’t have felt like an apt description.





	Magnificence, Personified

**Author's Note:**

> Figured I would go ahead and post this up. A little something I posted on my Tumblr a while back, and I'm insanely happy with how it turned out. Surprised I didn't post it here, honestly.
> 
> Enjoy, you guys!
> 
>  
> 
> And hey, come have a chat with me or send me a request over on my imagines blog! **sethrine-imagines.tumblr.com**

If he was given the choice of only one word to describe the creature before him, McCree would have used _magnificent,_ and it still wouldn’t have felt like an apt description. 

Hanzo, as he had taken to calling the merman-like being (not without a few trial and error names the merman quickly put a stop to, of course, before he found an appropriate name that just happened to come to him out of the blue), was so much _more_ than what he was able to describe. He was graceful and fluid in every move he took, beautiful, with long ink-black hair and honey brown eyes he swore shown gold in the sun’s light. His skin was pale and smooth and covered in tiny shimmering, iridescent blue and yellow scales over impossibly strong, lithe muscle, and his _tail…._

God, but he was gorgeous. And for whatever reason, Hanzo had taken a liking to him, a young, scruffy cowboy, of all people. 

At first, it was a timid, almost spiteful interest as Jesse had offered him shiny objects, small, glimmering trinkets and baubles that caught the merman's eye. He had moved so cautiously then, always swiping the items from the palm of Jesse’s hand and disappearing beneath the water, only to re-emerge some several feet away to inspect his newly acquired treasure while eyeing Jesse with a mild tolerance. As days turned to weeks, however, Hanzo began to linger, clawed fingers moving to touch Jesse’s palm as he reached for the newly offered item of the day, moving upward to the dark hairs on the cowboy’s forearms just to sate his curiosity. 

Then came the day Hanzo all but invaded his personal space, something of which McCree hadn't expected so suddenly, but was more than okay with. His water chilled hands had moved to Jesse’s face where wandering fingers stroked over the coarse stubble on his cheeks and the longer hairs of his soul patch against his chin. Hanzo had made a strange sound then, almost like a low, cooing purr from deep within his throat at the new sensations, trilling much like a bird as Jesse shivered at the careful scratch of too-sharp nails against his throat. 

The progression of touch continued for days after, Hanzo delighting in touching the human as much as possible. It quickly became routine for Jesse to discard his shirt so that Hanzo could press himself closer, often draping himself over Jesse as they lay against sun warmed rocks hidden away from any public eyes, not that there would be any on the private property he and his adoptive family had procured. 

During these bouts of touching, McCree was thrilled to be able to run his own hands along pale skin, tanned fingers smoothing over tiny scales that reflected the light like diamonds. They often wandered into impossibly dark tresses, surprised that Hanzo’s hair was even soft and shiny when dry, despite the salt that lingered there as well as on his skin. 

He spent more time by the ocean than he did anywhere else, spent more time with Hanzo than he did anyone else, and he was content with the thought. 

Even when Hanzo’s gentle touches became a bit more aggressive, when kisses along his neck and chest he couldn’t remember having started turned to light nibbles and harsher bites with impossibly sharp teeth, he reveled in it. Hanzo was always careful with him, as if aware he were more fragile compared to the sheer strength the merman contained in his lithe body. Jesse held no fear when in Hanzo’s presence, even if he acknowledged the danger that was there. 

He’d left his own share of marks on the merman from time to time, of which Hanzo delighted in seeing when Jesse showed up one day with a hand mirror. He had preened at his reflection for several moments, trilling and clicking his tongue as Jesse pointed out each one and pressed against the darker splotches with his thumb. Hanzo had given him a look afterward that set Jesse’s heart thundering in his chest. 

He fell hard and fast without even realizing it. By the first few months of this newfound affection, he was used to Hanzo’s curiosity, his insatiable need to touch and bite and claw at Jesse’s back as he wiggled against the cowboy and panted against his mouth. Hanzo was always so careful with him, only leaving marks if Jesse really wanted them, always careful not to break the skin, not that the cowboy would have minded. 

Maybe it was messed up, but Jesse liked the marks most times, didn’t mind them and didn’t care if others saw them. Some thought he got in too many fights, others believed some of the marks he did himself. Their words fell on deaf ears, either way. 

When the first year of having stumbled across Hanzo came about, circled on the calendar in his room in bright blue ink, Jesse promised the merman he would come around after dark. The moon was rising high, full and bright and bigger than it had been last month. The tides had risen against the shoreline, but it was fine. Where he was headed, the rocks would be just barely submerged, meaning easier access to the merman that was waiting for him. 

Sure enough, as he climbed the rocky walkway out towards the sea and dipped down to the lower rocks, he could see nearly glowing eyes framed by pale skin and a dark halo of hair just peaking up from the water’s surface. An ethereal beauty awaiting his presence. Magnificence, personified. 

Jesse made himself comfortable against the lowest rocky surface, the water there soaking through his pants even before he moved his legs to hang off into the water. He had foregone his shirt completely, as it would have been discarded the moment he arrived, and shoes would have been bogged down far too quickly to deal with. 

Hanzo rose from the water then, moving closer with slow, languid strokes of his tail, and Jesse was struck by how breathtakingly gorgeous he was in the moonlight. 

“Well, ain’t you the prettiest damn thing I’ve ever seen,” he praised, earning a light trill from the creature. Hanzo didn’t speak, at least not like Jesse did, but he understood, knew what Jesse spoke of when he talked about everyday things. He guessed Hanzo had picked up on the speech as far as hearing it, but never bothered to speak, if it was even possible. 

“Sorry I kept ya waitin’ all day, darlin’. Was tryin’ to get somethin’ together, and it took a little longer than I thought.” 

Jesse reached into his pants pocket, the action now a bit difficult with the material being wet, and managed to pull out a small plastic bag he had folded up real neatly. Hanzo tilted his head curiously at the object, watching Jesse unfold the clear bag and pull apart the seal, reaching in and pulling out a shimmering bracelet made with smooth, metallic stones and tiny, colorful shells, all laced together with a resilient twine. 

“Made ya this. Never really was the greatest with crafts, but hell, I think it turned out pretty good.” 

Hanzo eyed the bracelet for a long while before he reached out for it, fingers almost reverently touching the shiny, misshaped beads and delicate shells. Jesse smiled and carefully reached out, fingers winding around a pale wrist and tugging it gently closer. 

“It goes here, sugar,” he said, unlatching the tiny metal clasp, a rustproof adjustment he had to scour several stores for last-minute, and wrapping the bracelet around Hanzo’s wrist. He made sure the clasp was secure before letting the merman loose, who instantly pulled his wrist closer to inspect the jewelry against his skin. 

“Even made one for myself,” Jesse continued, pulling out another bracelet from the plastic bag that was similar to the one he had given Hanzo. He stuffed the bag back in his pocket and struggled briefly to clasp his own bracelet around his wrist, grinning wide when he succeeded and holding it out for Hanzo to see. 

Hanzo took hold of his arm and pulled it closer, looking over the beaded jewelry just as he did his own. His eyes grew large for a moment as he moved his wrist beside McCree’s, noting the similar pattern used, despite the shells and metallic beads being differently shaped. His gaze softened, and when he looked back at Jesse, it very nearly took the cowboy’s breath away. 

The kiss he was pulled into did that well enough. Hanzo’s kisses always bore a bit of possessiveness. Even now, with his lips gentle against Jesse’s own, the merman could not help the swipe of his tongue within the humans mouth, claiming without much thought, as if he was already secure in knowing Jesse was his. When he pulled away, Hanzo made the sweetest chirping noise, slick hands moving to grasp behind Jesse’s head as he leveraged himself up with the strength in his arms and the power behind his glorious tail- 

Had Jesse been paying attention, he would have recognized the movements, the intent behind what Hanzo was doing. He’d barely taken in a breath and shouted it all out of his lungs when Hanzo yanked him closer and pulled him down below the water’s surface. He startled in the change of atmosphere by clinging to Hanzo tightly, feeling the powerful thrust of his tail moving them further out from the rocks and deeper into the water. 

He panicked, struggled with the firm grip around him as what little breath held in his lungs escaped him. Hanzo released him shortly after, though Jesse was disoriented from the movements before. It was terribly dark, so much so that he could barely make out the moon’s light cutting through from above. It was as he righted himself and attempted to swim up that Hanzo returned to him, arms moving around him like a vice. 

Jesse struggled once more, kicked and flailed wildly in an attempt to pull himself away, try to resurface and catch his breath. Already, he could feel his lungs burn, just as his eyes did from the salt, desperate to fill with air and keep his body from shutting itself down. His short nails dug into Hanzo’s shoulders as the merman nuzzled at him, pulling him impossibly closer as Jesse began seeing pinpoints of light in the darkness of his eyesight. 

He had stopped struggling soon after, mouth parted to take in air that wasn’t present, lungs filling with water and body convulsing at the action it deemed wrong. Jesse had given in to his sudden fate at the hands of the merman. 

Part of him had always known Hanzo would be the death of him, he just hadn’t realized exactly how it would all happen. Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to hate Hanzo for what was happening, knew that the creature probably didn’t understand completely, even if he seemed aware of many things Jesse wouldn’t have expected him to be aware of at all. 

Hanzo was still nuzzling at him, nose and lips pressing against his neck as Jesse began to black out. He could feel the continued presses against his skin, mouth opening and too-sharp teeth grazing at his flesh, against his slowing pulse point. There was a flash of pain, a final pulse of feeling before Jesse succumbed to unconsciousness and the strange warmth that battled the cold feeling of water, warm whispers in his mind that put him at ease. 

_“You are safe, Jesse. You are with me. You are mine.”_

 

When Jesse woke up, it was to the sun shining down upon him, the ocean water licking at his skin as it pushed and pulled against the shoreline. He gave a sharp gasp and sat up abruptly, coughing wetly before groaning at the heavy, sore feeling of his body, how his chest ached from within and his neck burned at the sting of sand and salt against open wounds. 

He reached up and pressed against the tender pinpricks and pulling away almost as quickly with a sharp hiss, aware that something significant had happened, but unable to remember what, exactly, it was. 

The cowboy wondered, briefly, if it had all been a dream, if he had somehow gotten himself drunk and wandered to the shore, only to pass out and awaken with accidental, self-inflicted injuries and a fresh sunburn that would fade into darker skin before tomorrow. It was as he was picking himself up, stumbling a bit and catching himself against the rocky walkway leading out further to sea that he saw the bracelet he had made around his wrist, metallic beads glinting in the sun’s light. 

Jesse laughed. 

And what a magnificent sound, it was.


End file.
